Участник:4th Korean Player of All Time
French football media France Football announced 30 candidates for this year's Ballon d'Or on the 7th, putting Kim Min-jae on the list of candidates.
Kim Min-jae led Napoli to victory in Italy's Serie A in the 2022-23 season. It is the first time in 33 years that Napoli has reached the top of Serie A since the 1989-90 season when Diego Maradona played. Napoli also reached the quarterfinals of the UEFA Champions League, the highest performance ever. Kim Min-jae won the season's best defender award. He moved to Bayern Munich in the German Bundesliga this season.
Ballon d'Or is the most prestigious football award organized by French football magazine "France Football." It is given to the best player in the year around the world. Last year, French striker Karim Benzema (Altihad), who led Real Madrid to two gold medals, won the award.
Kim Min-jae is the first Asian defender to be nominated for the Ballon d'Or. There were three previously nominated Korean players for the Ballon d'Or: Seol Ki-hyun of Anderlecht (Belgium) in 2002, Park Ji-sung of Manchester United (England) in 2005, and Son Heung-min of Tottenham (England) in 2019 and 2022. Among them, Son Heung-min ranked 11th in 2022, the highest among Asian players.
Attention is also focusing on who will be the main character of this year's Ballon d'Or. Lionel Messi (Inter Miami), who gave Argentina the trophy at the 2022 Qatar World Cup, will challenge for his eighth career award. Eling Holland, the main character of Manchester City's "three-time winner," is also a candidate for the award. The final winner will be announced on Oct. 31.